Indie filmmaker Kevin Smith is best known for making indie films set in his native state of New Jersey. These include the cult favorite Clerks franchise (1994–2022), Mallrats (1995), and Chasing Amy (1997). And he remains deeply tied to the Garden State, where he’s long owned a comic book store in Red Bank and where he recently bought the historic Atlantic Moviehouse in the coastal community of Highlands.
But, for the last two decades, he and his wife, Jennifer Schwalbach Smith, have lived in Los Angeles, in a rambling mansion in the Hollywood Hills that he bought from his buddy and frequent collaborator Ben Affleck. Now looking to downsize, the couple has listed the property for sale for just under $6 million. The listing agents are Brock Harris and Lori Harris of Brock & Lori at Keller Williams Realty Los Feliz.
The three-story home was built in the mid-1990s and is characterized by swooping curves.
Gavin Cater
Smith told Mansion Global that he and his wife first saw the 8,144-square-foot house at a Fourth of July barbecue in 2001, instantly “admiring how beautiful the home was.” Affleck, then at the height of his early fame as a leading man, had bought the house just a few years earlier but, according to Smith, had soured on it because it sits right up next to the street, making it too visible to paparazzi.
Since they loved it so much, Affleck suggested they buy the house for the same price he paid in 1998. And, in early 2003, they did, shelling out $1.62 million for the three-story home that’s notched into a steep hillside. Notable for its verticality and curved façade, the five-bedroom, eight-bath home was built in 1993 and features nearly 12-foot ceilings, floor-to-ceiling windows, custom-crafted ironwork, and a combination of hardwood and terra cotta tile flooring. An elevator services all floors, including the street-level three-car garage.
A sculptural bar anchors one end of the living room.
Gavin Cater
There’s a sculptural wet bar in the fireside living room, and the kitchen, with two stainless-steel-topped islands, wooden cabinets, and designer appliances, features a curved wall of windows with a leafy, over-the-treetop view of the surrounding hills. Other rooms include a dedicated dining room and a library where Smith recorded his SModcast podcast, as well as the Vegan Abbatoir podcast he co-hosted with his actress and musician daughter, Harley Quinn Smith.
Three of the four guest bedrooms are ensuite, while the primary suite is described in marketing material as “reminiscent of a Parisian apartment.” The spacious suite includes a living room with fireplace, a raised bedroom area, an adjoining study/office, two walk-in closets, and a sophisticated bathroom with a sauna.
Huge potted plants envelop a secluded patio warmed by an adobe fireplace.
Gavin Cater
A plant-filled patio with a chunky, tile-accented adobe fireplace runs along a slender gap between the house and a retaining wall, while the rooftop swimming pool and spa are bathed in sunlight.
The home was used during the pandemic as a set for the TBS reality competition series Celebrity Show-Off, on which Smith placed as runner-up. Now empty nesters, the couple have downsized to a recently renovated home in nearby Studio City.
Other Hollywood heavy hitters who have called the Outpost Estates neighborhood home include Dolores del Rio, Bela Lugosi, and Gore Vidal, along with Charlize Theron, Felicity Huffman and William H. Macy, Ben Stiller, Winona Ryder, and David Lynch.
Click here for more photos of Kevin Smith’s L.A. home.
Source: Luxury - robbreport.com
